Bizarre delay halts Murray’s sin bin as Knights stay alive

Cameron Murray will nervously await the match review committee as the Rabbitohs were left buried by the ramifications of their skipper’s sin bin.
In the 37th minute, Souths skipper was placed on report for a tackle shot that saw Newcastle’s Tyson Frizell ruled out of the remainder of the game.
The second-rower was held by three Souths defenders when Murray came in late and clipped the Newcastle star high.
RECAP: NRL round 25 Saturday
READ MORE: Eels in hot water over farcical delay
READ MORE: Tuivasa-Sheck ditches Kiwis in bombshell switch
But in a bizarre set of circumstances, Murray’s report was elevated by referee Chris Butler who instructed the lock off the field for 10 minutes.
Cameron Murray was sin binned.  Nine
“This is a direct reaction from what happened in New Zealand with Stephen Crichton,” Brad Fittler said on Nine.
His dismissal did not sit well with Damien Cook who questioned the consistency of the game, referencing Crichton’s remarkable sin bin escape on Friday.
“Where’s the consistency from last night?,” Cook asked Butler.
“Come on Damien you know better than that,” Butler replied.
“You have that one planned?”
“I reckon Graham Annesley’s got on the phone and said get him off,” Fittler added.
“Funny game rugby league,” Phil Gould said.
Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now. 
As Adam Elliott took to the field in replace of Frizell, Andrew Johns declared the lengthy review of the incident was justified.
“We’ve seen the last couple of years, you cannot hit someone in the head … that wasn’t deliberate but he hit him in the head, knocked him out and you go to the bin,” he said.
“He didn’t need to use that type of force,” Brad Fittler added.
Capitalising on the one-man advantage, Ponga opted to take the two points to extend the lead to eight at half time.
The Knights skipper engineered a double for Jack Cogger before the Rabbitohs hit back through Tallis Duncan.
Newcastle young gun Sebastian Su’a’s NRL debut was short lived, with the 21-year-old was given marching orders for a high shot on Davvy Moale late in the match.
Souths’ Sean Keppie joined the report list for late contact with Ponga, while Dane Gagai crossed for his second and finalised the score at 36-16.